Expert Overview

The National High School Poetry Contest is a free, rolling competition run by the Live Poets Society of NJ, in which U.S. high school students submit an unpublished poem of 20 lines or fewer. Winning poems are published in the society’s quarterly and anthologies, and a small number of poets receive college scholarships.

Format

Individual

Judging Format

Criteria based scoring (creativity, originality, imagery, artistic quality, and mastery of poetic expression)

Monetary

Grade Eligibility

Rising Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors

Geographic Eligibility

U.S.

Discipline

Poetry

Entries

Not published

Percent Awarded

Not published

Important Dates

Fall Issue submission deadline

September 30

Winter Issue submission deadline

December 31

Spring Issue submission deadline

March 31

Summer Issue submission deadline

June 30

Passed

Open

Approaching: < 1 mo.

Priority: < 2 weeks

Urgent: < 1 week

Registration Cost

No entry fee

About

Poems are accepted year-round by email or mail, with quarterly cutoffs on September 30, December 31, March 31, and June 30, and no entry fee or purchase is required. Volunteer educators and poets judge on creativity, originality, imagery, artistic quality, and mastery of poetic expression. The top award is the $500 Easterday Poetry Award, chosen from four quarterly Best of Issue winners ($500 each) and four Editor’s Choice selections ($100 each).

The society publishes no entry totals, so selectivity cannot be stated. It names winners at several levels: each quarter, 20 to 30 poets are named JUST POETRY!!! winners and receive a free copy of that issue, and hundreds more are published in themed anthologies with no award beyond publication. Only the scholarship tiers signal real selection; a published poem is a published poem, and should be described that way.

The National High School Poetry Contest is the right competition for a student who wants a free, low-barrier place to publish a poem and a chance at a modest scholarship, understanding that its scholarship tiers, not the title of winner, are the credential.